Students trained as volunteers to safeguard wildlife during possible floods

A CORRESPONDENT

BOKAKHAT: In anticipation of possible floods, the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve authorities initiated preliminary training for selected volunteers. This training is being conducted at the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre located in Borjuri.

In previous years, during the flood season, the Kaziranga authorities systematically engaged National Service Scheme (NSS) students from local colleges to assist forest personnel in controlling vehicle speed in the animal corridors and protecting wildlife. Similarly, this year too, students selected by their respective colleges’ NSS units are being trained for this purpose.

A total of 65 NSS cadets from JDSG College (Bokakhat), CNB College, Government Model College (Kaziranga), and Kaliabor College have been selected in coordination with college authorities, and preliminary training is being imparted at the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Borjuri.

On Wednesday morning, under the leadership of environmental worker Uttam Saikia and with special support from forest officials, senior veterinarian and Centre Director Dr Bhaskar Choudhury provided training to the student volunteers on the tasks to be carried out and the precautions to be taken during flood situations to ensure wildlife safety. Environmentalist Uttam Saikia also briefed the students on duties related to animal corridors during floods. In the programme, Ripunjay Dekai from Mangaldai, currently studying at Delhi University, also shared his volunteering experience at the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre.

Following the first training session held on June 4, the second group’s training was conducted on Wednesday. The initial training session also saw participation from Bokakhat’s Forest Officer Manjit Sonowal, veterinarians, volunteers, and forest staff. According to departmental sources, the third and fourth batches of volunteer training will be held on June 30 at the Borjuri Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. Once the training is complete, the NSS student volunteers will be deployed to assist forest officials in various animal corridors of Kaziranga during the flood season.

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